Smishing

The word “smishing” comes from combining “SMS” — for short message service, the technology behind texting — with “phishing,” the practice of trying to steal personal or financial information through deceptive communications, primarily emails. Basically, it's phishing by another means, namely text messages on mobile devices.

Like phishing emails, smishing texts are social-engineering scams that aim to manipulate people into turning over sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and account passwords or providing access to a business computer system. They rely on persuading you that the sender is a familiar or trusted source and that urgent action is needed to secure a benefit, resolve a problem or avert a threat.  

AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal

Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. 

Join Now

They might come from a mobile provider, or a service like Netflix or PayPal, claiming your account has expired or been locked, and you need to provide personal information or click on a link to reactivate it. That gives the scammers means to steal your money or identity or to infect your device with malware.

Bogus bank fraud warnings were the most common type of text-based scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2022 — up nearly 20-fold since 2019. These texts will often appear to be from major banks like Wells Fargo or Bank of America, with urgent messages for customers to verify a transaction, according to the agency. That gives the scammers means to steal your money or identity or to infect your device with malware. 

Also extremely common: fake delivery-related text messages, purportedly from the likes of Amazon, FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service about an impending package or a shipment snafu. You may be sent to a website, where you’re asked to verify your address and perhaps pay a small “redelivery fee.” 

But variations abound. A scam text might say you've won a lottery prize or a gift card, or promise a break on break on student loan debt. It could look like an alert from a government agency such as Social Security or the IRS or link to a phony invoice or cancellation notice for a product or service you supposedly bought. 

Warning signs

• A text message requests personal information, such as your Social Security number or an online account password.
• The message asks you to click a link to resolve a problem, win a prize or access a service.
• The message claims to be from a government agency. Government bodies almost never initiate contact with someone by phone or text, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).